Alas, my days of living in London are fast coming to an end (I'll be back), and after my earlier flurry of ticks, there are still lots of things on the 60 before 60 list to do in this fair city. Time to get a few last ticks done. The fact that I've got rather a lot to do this week, like pack and work stuff is a minor stumbling block in the way of adventure.
I had been waiting for a bit of better weather (yes foolish me in February) to head to the London Wetland Centre - a place literally a 15 minute walk away in Barnes. With a tiny bit of sun peeking out between the clouds, I grabbed my binoculars, some snacky snacks, water and set off. It was already 12.30pm, so not exactly seizing the day, but I set forth to seize the afternoon.
After my 15 minute walk (I ate one snack along the way) I arrived, paid the entrance fee and in I went. Now I must say, that I don't like zoos or animals being used in tourism, but this place is different in that it's definitely more about conservation and education, with a lot of the exhibitions being aimed at kids. The majority of the centre is made up of large protected areas of wetlands. So, lots of birds. Along with a pair of otters, Honey and Tod, and 3 cows (names unknown) which roam around acting as free range lawn mowers (just the cows, I don't believe otters are any good at lawn mowing).
There are several bird watching 'hides' (huts where you go and "hide" from the birds so you can spy on them), complete with opening windows, guide books, seats and posters. All that was missing was a place to get a nice cup of tea and a scone. Although they were available at the cafe. Being winter, there were not a lot of people around, but the twitchers who were there were very enthusiastic. I had a lovely gentlemen excitedly pointing out a "insert bird name here" to me. I nodded along, equally as enthusiastic as I peered intently into my binoculars and not seeing a thing.
Twitchers are certainly in a world of their own. I like birds and I would love to be able to recognise and identify more of them (hence the binoculars). I've even attended a couple of bird watching walks back in Australia. However, I'm yet to spend £1,000's on cameras, professional binoculars or camouflage gear. Also, I'm not very good at sitting still for long periods and I ate my snack's (I get twitchy - pun indented) way too early on and got a bit peckish.
Now on to Honey and Tod, the resident otters. The UK's native Eurasian or European otter was on the brink of extinction but due to the fab conservation work and cleaning up the waterways, their numbers are increasing. Apparently otters are a good indication of clean water and healthy wetlands. I'm yet to see one in the wild, but good to know they are out there. The strange thing is, Honey and Tod are not European otters, they're Asian small-clawed otters. They do have a very large area to play in and the keepers talk on them was interesting. They are very cute and fun to watch, but apparently make terrible pets so no move was made to smuggle them out in my back pack. Which was now empty of snacks.
After that, a quick hello to the cows and more walking around looking out for water fowls, I can finally say I've visited. No fridge magnet purchased as proof as I exited through the obligatory gift shop.
You probably know that a “flock” of crows is called a “Murder” but did you know that a group of ravens is called an “unkindness” or “conspiracy”? Note for next trivia challenge.
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